Cynosure
by Lynne D. Mariza
Summary: So...reincarnation turned out to be much, much more than just a plausible theory where people worried over whether or not they were going to get turned into a bug to spend the rest of their lives. Because karma and rebirth just seemed to go hand in hand like that. Absolutely lovely, really. OC-Insert!Ino
1. Not Timetravel?

**CYNOSURE**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

 **Warnings:** OC-Insert.

 **A/N:** If you're not terribly interested in the first excerpt that is meant to channel the confusion that comes with death and squashes down a person's whole life storyinto the span of a couple of vague paragraphs you're welcome to skip the **Prologue** and start at **Chapter 1**. Like don't but if you have to :(

Promise that this is a nice, fluffy story or at least as fluffy as a story of potential death and destruction of child-killers can be :P No really, this is tagged under friendship/adventure so...

Enjoy.

* * *

 **Prologue**

 _Not Timetravel?_

* * *

 **It's** a very long story.

A long story in a short time. Except, it's not a story. Not really.

She sees a girl. _The_ girl. Her whole life is played right before her very eyes. She watches as she grows older. Learns as she cries and stumbles in tears and sweat, drowning in mud and gasping for air. Listens on as she plays around with people like puppets. She laughs as she relives her every success. And she is silent when she, the girl takes her very last breath. Early, too early, much earlier than what was expected.

 _(But then again, that is life at it very finest. Bright, explosive and...Oh, so very short.)_

XXX

 **Ino's** breaths came out in slow, even puffs. Steady, almost too steady for a newlyborn.

There had been, for lack of a better word, momentary shock followed by a somewhat strangled gasp of horror at the sight of her tiny hands, though only when her mind was coherent enough to actually register the entire situation. It took a while to accept the fact that she now had the absolute joy of experiencing what it would be like to become a toddler. A toddler. Albeit a very active toddler, but still a pudgy sized midget with an equally midget-sized brain to match.

Thinking, though she loathed to admit it, had been _difficult_ for a while. And really, she needed to just take a moment and _breathe_.

Her hair is, was- is still blond, her eyes are still blue, but weren't all babies born with blue eyes or was it black? And really, the first thing she does is to go look in a mirror- well she got a good look at her own face before anything else- but surely there were probably a million other blond haired blue eyed babies on this planet, because when one is sick of being well, themselves then the plausible theory known as time travel was quite literally a massive curse under blessed clothing- and she thinks she is panicking a bit because not everyone is interested in reliving their lives.

 _(Is it not more cruel to struggle through the same childhood and being unable to change anything with a body too small, only except this time you'd have the developed enough mind to actually comprehend the whole situation?)_

Because really, her heart just sinks at the very thought.

Then though, came the startling realisation that her first prediction of time-traveling was a bit off. Just a tad. Because obviously, the more logical conclusion was that she had somehow dimension-hopped and probably wasn't even on Mars, let alone Earth. So by this point, any sane person would of course now be able to make a simple conclusion that...

You're just not _you_ anymore.

...As death does.

XXX

Her 'new' parents often spoke to her. Their voices were quiet, illegible whispers that she couldn't quite make out. They were different. The dynamic that this couple shared: a doting dad and an equally warm mum, who seemed to take it upon herself to be the strict figure in this whole new relationship. Different, yes, but it was a nice different.

Then, there were the vague memories of her 'old' parents. The ones who had also suffered an early demise. It almost made her question if the renowned curse actually existed. You know, the one where everyone is just doomed to die a horrible early death and usually involved an idiotic ancestor getting on the wrong side of an all-too-powerful someone.

Her mother, Clover's (and wasn't it just sad that she never ever got any of the luck that the supposed simple plant was supposed to bring, so maybe she really was just a three-leaved or five-leaved weed mockery instead of well-); but mother, oh dear _darling_ Mother. She had played the soft-spoken ideal of female virtue with ease. Switching through different masks with every breath she took. Mother hardly ever spoke to her-Clover, not directly. There were always guests to entertain and beyond that, there was a tendency to drink herself to death behind those wonderful, wonderful red velvet curtains.

Such a conflicting woman. And all that Clover could do, was expected to do was to just grasp and struggle and drown and- so she learnt what she could between cigarettes and lovely corsets, and between dainty wine glasses and barrels of beers.

Clover had been born into a privileged family, a pity that she was well-

Her mother had had an obsession with perfection.

And even as just another plain, boring human; one on the very edge of her own deathbed, there had still been that insistent need to be Mother, and not well, mum. It was all very dramatic and a little silly to be honest.

By then, she was all very flustered, even squeezed out a few tears and everything and wasn't it just so very, absolutely, god-frickin' funny that their first motherly talk was just a too-thin child and a too-thin woman _fake_ -crying at each other. And really if nothing else, at least Clover had learned how to "weave the truth into pretty little threads", because obviously "you should never lie". And wasn't it awful how everything and anything was always just _obviously_ , because really why expect anything more when you had the _obvious_ to try and survive and break free from.

But essentially, from what Mother had attempted and tried to say, and wasn't it funny that in the rare time she was actually sober, she sounded more drunk than ever. All dizzy and dazed from death or whatever it was that just brought her down, down, down. In summary though, it was all rainbows and flying unicorns to be an amazing ball of sunshine, but that would have to come after a slow selective process of differentiating those who were "your people".

...and then there was "everyone else" who just happened to populate the same planet.

And wasn't it just lovely that Clover had the wonderful honour of being stuck in the middle and was exempt from the polite mask reserved for 'everyone else' and the warm, cheerful face (if that even existed) for 'your people'. Instead, she just got the full brunt force of all her shittiness. And then life changed, or well, first life had changed from there. Because suddenly it was all like, yes, you were born into a family of prestige and could now be acknowledged as such without the one who birthed you holding you tight like a leech.

And hadn't that been mind-blowing. Drunk, angry, impatient, rude, awful _Mother_ had been the only barrier against the harsh realities of what was her life.

Now, if Clover had to summarise her whole life into two words she might have called it a simple family spat. Maybe. If you squinted and hopped five times on your left foot and then spun around just a bit more, you would see it too. With her lovely adoring mother and her father as nothing more than the man who donated his bloodline that allowed her to gain the final victory even if it was what dragged her into the whole mess in the first place. Clover had lived her life, trudging along with the complicatedness of family matters, as they were.

It really was complicated business. Inheritance problems and that of the like. But she did manage to win in the end. Just for emphasis.

And apparently, that was it. The end that was.

Clover, now Ino, had died with victory on her side, so forgive her if she was just feeling a little more than vindictive about the whole death before benefits could be reaped thing.

So, Ino was a quiet child, too busy sulking to realise that well this was not time travel and should just revel in the happiness that she didn't have to go back and do everything again. Thus, in that sense, Ino was also a happy child. Just one who focused on eating all her veggies and may have become a tad too healthy, but really, if she wanted to grow up and become a vegetable ninja, then Ino would grow up and become- well a ninja that wouldn't meet an early demise, at least not through body failure. Because really, that was an awful end to- well, everything.

So after many blissful years as Yamanaka Ino, there are now no more "and"s or "and wasn't"s or random breaks and dashes between incoherent thoughts under moments of supposed coherence. You, I and us all together, will be pleased to find that her thoughts are no longer the jumbled up, horrified mess it was for the past few paragraphs.

And wasn't that just lovely.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

 **It** was a quiet, restless day.

The light seeped through and painted tiny rainbows on the tips of one's eyelashes, dancing about with every blink. Ino's room was rather warm. Light and cheery with the simple essence that only children seemed to exude. Though all that airiness settled down with the musky smell of time that encircled this traditional home, passed down from generation to generation.

 _(Seven years, huh?)_

Seven long years. Quiet ones.

Silences are often good for thinking. Ino had plenty of those. And then thinking led to frankly, more thinking.

How frightening though, that very moment when the world you had come to know just wasn't to be anymore. In another life, people like her would probably have been burnt at a stake, though not another actually, just her old life. With life force personified, because yes, that was how Ino saw chakra, and ninja- _shinobi:_ killers, assassins, teachers, doctors, politicians, soldiers, police, guardians, _parents_ and **this** is what she is to become.

Wordless expectations. Because really wasn't it just _obvious_ , what else is there to do?

What can she do?

And once again, her whole life is just laid before her very eyes. Just like that.

There's a big window in Ino's room. Large and clear, with the ever-so-breathtaking view of the hokage mountain. One time, her cousin had told her that all the other clan heirs probably had the same window, Yamanaka Santa just seemed to always be the one with the weird tidbits of facts or whatnot.

Being and becoming a ninja is everything. Perhaps, some out there may disagree. But why settle and spend your days lumbering away through piles and piles of work and never be able to achieve any more than just average. When one was of no noble descent, nor possessed the mind and courage to roam the lands as a merchant, and even then most knew the bare basics to be able to keep up with ninja guards at a bare minimum; then really why not? Why not just fight? It's what you must do until the very moment you take your last breath.

Sometimes in those moments of absolute silence, Ino just looks outside, sees them- the ninja, absolutely everywhere and she thinks to herself: "This is me, this will be me" and with an almost unsure tone though, no matter how slight, the final part is perhaps the only silent promise she dares to make in this foreign world, with its foreign energies and foreign people. She's a stranger in this strange world.

 _("...But I will be **better**.")_

Ino's a hardworking girl. Her smiles are bright. Her tone is cheery. She is willing to help out unless it requires stepping into the kitchen. She greets and chatters away with new faces, faces of her family, her clan. She learns her katas. No fussing or crying when she pulls a muscle or breaks a limb and practices handsigns till her fingers bleed.

Ino is a good girl. She knows, but she wants to be better than good. Because good is just escorting pompous clients and killing bandits and guarding the gates and- simply, not enough.

But Ino is also a lucky child. Because on days like these, where she is just feeling a little lost, there's always someone to talk to. With soothing pats and quiet words, then all of a sudden it's as if calmness has just weaved itself into a nice cloak and wrapped her up tightly in its mesmerising waves.

It had been easy. Almost too easy, to come to love a father like Yamanaka Inoichi.

Ino is perched on top of his lap. Eyes closed as she allows herself to relax at the sound of his steady heartbeat. His fingers are rough and tattered with scars, but gentle as they slowly smoothed down the small ruffles in her hair.

She is quiet, as usual. Basking in the glow of the afternoon sun as she sits up and turns wide attentive eyes to the man that she has learned to call Papa. She looks forward to times like these. Just quiet talks that had expanded from the one-sided conversations to a relaxing avenue where she can just talk, without being told to hold her tongue.

"Look, it's Akira-jisan* and Santa again," Ino says after a moment.

Eyes lingering on the duo, with the elder chasing the down the latter with a rather formidable cane. She had learned the other day that Akira-san had specialised in bo-staffs before he had been forced to retire from active duty. Because _obviously,_ no one would ever do so willingly.

Inoichi just lets out a somewhat amused hum, before shaking his head.

"Akira-san is one of the first to graduate from the academy when it got established or as the Ninja Training Institution as it was called."

Ino nods, noting this down in her head. That was almost fifty years ago. Akira-jisan is the current oldest living Yamanaka.

"There are so many people in the clan, I'm never going to remember all their names and everything that comes with it," she says.

There's a whining tone underlying her words and a slight blush on her cheeks as she pouts. She immediately perks up a bit when she feels a large hand ruffling her head with an endearing pat, which also messed up the hair that said hand had been combing through just minutes before.

Inoichi doesn't say anything like "you are already lots better than I was at your age". He has always been more of a 'improve against yourself' rather than 'compete against others' type of person. Instead, he smiles, the smile that Ino subconsciously tries to channel in her own before pointing at a rather battered-looking kunoichi gracing her ways through the clan compound.

"Do you know who that is," he asks.

Ino pauses for a bit, mind whirring before she replies.

"That's Kaori-san, she's not wearing her flak jacket today."

"And why do you think that is?"

She tries to remember what she can of Yamanaka Kaori, which honestly is not a lot. There's a rather blurry image of a kind-looking young girl holding her as a baby. But other than that, all she knows is from tidbits gained from conversations here and there as well as the "naming game" that Inoichi plays with her from time to time.

"Because, the flak jacket...it doesn't have enough defense and she looks like she has just been through a rough mission, so, she um, is not wearing it."

Inoichi tries to hold in a laugh. It is actually rather adorable when Ino thinks as if you could literally see all the gears turning in her head one by one.

"Hmmm, but Kaori-chan seems to be fond of the version adorned with metal padding. Her grandparents were one of the ones who had been reluctant in switching to the new shinobi gear after the First Shinobi War, so she usually has a bit of metal armour on as well. But, she doesn't have that today."

Ino frowns a bit, she had heard that Kaori had come from one of the more traditional families which is just putting it nicely.

"Kaori-chan has been a chūnin for quite a while now. She was actually one of the first to be promoted from her year, only a year after graduating from the academy. Shiori-san had been ecstatic," Inoichi adds.

She silently files the information, 'first to be promoted', 'family stuck in the glory old shinobi days', 'chūnin for a long time'.

Then an odd mixture of pity and dawning realisation comes across her face. A rather odd look on the five-year-old Ino.

"She got sent to Kumo, didn't she?"

Inoichi simply gave a nod.

Ino sighed at the confirmation, becoming a jōnin was hard work. There was the matter of rising fame, proving yourself as being nicely rounded - in terms of abilities, of course - as well as an approved recommendation of an authorised figure. As for what exactly 'approved' and 'authorised' actually stood for well the terms tend to blur ever so slightly. It seemed to waver with violently frequent mood swings at different times.

Getting promoted was tough work. More so in a time when the village was more in need of those doing all the gritty work to get into the graces of the daimyo rather than paying their own shinobi more money for missions that were currently not a high priority at the moment. At least the ones that needed doing were not to be trusted in the hand of green jōnin. Funny how the word seems to follow you forever, from your very first itty pitty promotion to a freshly green genin.

The newly offered jōnin exam*, set deep in the every so charming village of the Cloud, seemed to be a well-approved and all round less-of-a-hassle, that is if you considered putting your life and sanity and well-wounded pride on end was enough of a cost which the benefit of saving time would outweigh. Seriously as a Konoha resident and Konoha-nin to be, the Kumo-nin were batshit insane right from their kage to their rapping jinchūriki, like life-threatening weird.

And from how rumours went, the chūnin exam in Kumo had been bad enough. Yamanaka Santa, the "loudest and most obnoxious of his generation and all generations to come" (Akira's very wise words) had come back scarred and quite frankly horrifyingly quiet for a whole month and that was only because no had actually died that time round.

"Ne papa, I never want to take an exam in Kumo, like ever," Ino says to Inoichi in an utmost serious tone.

* * *

 **The** days passes by slowly. Floating past page after page as Ino grows older.

As the times of light start to get longer, the sun seemed to rise up higher and higher each passing minute to encompass the whole village in a massive cloak of heat. The air is alive and crackling. Stifling, apart from the occasional breeze wobbling about. It is kind of wheezy, like a dying butterfly giving its last flaps. Pitiful in terms of wind strength and not very helpful amidst the heat. But it does serve to spread some form of coolness that stops people from fainting so they at least have enough time to make their way towards the closest shelter.

Twas the intensity of the summers that faired in the depths of the Fire Country.

Red is already starting to spread out from Ino's cheeks, causing messy patches on her pale skin. There is a familiar ache in her limbs. Her muscles are groaning as she stretched for her warm-up. Ino is already starting to feel rather sweaty and she is trying her hardest not to scratch the sunburnt patches on her arm.

Nevertheless, she musters up a smile as she turns around at the sound of footsteps. Her blues eyes curving into crescent moons as she greets her temporary tutor.

"Santa-san."

Yamanaka Santa had only been recently promoted to Chunin and like many others he had chosen to adorn the rather bulky standardised green vest, or at least figured a change in wardrobe would be a change in mood enough to rid himself of his quiet phase. Giving a slight bow, or not even that - a cross that looked like the illegitimate child of a nod of the neck and the twist of the waist and formalities are all but done in Santa's eyes. His serious face really did his cheeky smile no justice. Though perhaps, that oddly trustworthy air about him when his face is wiped clean was what gave Santa an edge in peculiar times like these. Looking menacing and intimidating is an art. One rather handy in a clan that specialised in Interrogation and Torture.

Konoha's reputation is a building block wiped rather un-cleaning-ly following the Kyuubi attack. While, its kind and sympathetic name remain, gone are its serious, professional and _fearful_ reputation.

On another note, Ino's taijutsu is coming along nicely, or rather the frames of what will become her style in the future. There isn't much to be done about her short limbs and baby fat, though that will be slowly polished by the aging hands of time.

"Ne, Santa-san. Do you know when I will be able to start learning the basics of the clan jutsu?" Ino asks. "I've already finished reading the scrolls," she adds in.

There is a slight quirk of the brow at her progress, but Santa is used to her fast pacing in learning. He is brushing over the small bump on his index finger with his thumb, as he thinks over the best way to spend the rest of the morning practice.

He had been rather excited when he had been informed of the decision to watch over the clan heiress as she went through with her daily training, while Inoichi-sama was preoccupied with other missions. There had been words here and there about a growing prodigy and like many others there had been a spark of pride at the thought of the next clan head being skilled. They had been growing rather tired of praises for the Uchiha and Hyuuga lately. Though he had reserved the benefit of doubt for their first introduction. That was quickly dismissed when he actually met the girl and saw fit to mentally compare his own progress to the heiress' at the same age. Humility, thy name comes with the brunt force of cruel harsh reality.

Thinking back on the request, Santa supposes it won't hurt to show the basic hand sign. Looking at the rather hopeful look, he muses that a short demonstration may also be helpful. Besides, he has already received permission from the clan head himself. Although, it had been meant as a plan for quite a few weeks from now. But of course, it is always quite fun to tell people of the expected task once they are all set to learn their clan jutsu. It is a special privilege and one that Santa has already reserved for, being the one to tell his wonderful 'half-student'.

Flashing through all the pros and cons in his mind. Though that soon comes to an abrupt halt with a brief grimace when he realised that he has been starting to act more and more like his lazy teammate ever since he has been bombarded with the new responsibilities after his promotion. So, he decides to just go through with whatever had popped into his mind at first. A more instinct and heads-on person, that he is. Just one born with rather misleading and responsible facial features. Perhaps, it's the frown lines. Or firm eyebrows that help to convince people that he completely knows what he is doing. Turning his attention back to the girl who is patiently waiting with a smile, he gives his answer. Though he can't quite hide the brief quirk of his lips.

His fingers move to form the basic seal for the Mind Body Switch Technique, without infusing any chakra and watched carefully as Ino followed through. Or at least the baby proofed version that can't do much beyond possessing anything that had a larger brain capacity beyond that of a frog. A _normal_ frog.

Now, what is next? Ah, Santa puts on his utmost authoritative 'I'm qualified enough to be a chūnin instructor so don't worry~' face and gives a satisfied nod and stops Ino right at the moment that she is about to complete the technique. It is looking pretty good so far, from what he can sense.

"Now, now, don't want to get too ahead of ourselves here. Aww, don't pout Ino-chan, it's your favourite time of the lesson coming up," he says.

Patting her on the head and ignoring her pout, Santa leads her to a shaded area before starting to quiz her on the nuts and bolts of the most boring information and basics that he can think of. Ones that he knows that she has already mastered.

There is another brief pout shot in his direction, but Ino still walks behind him quietly. Her feet taking care in leaving minimum marks on the ground as he leads her to sit under a tree. Dragging her up by the bends of her arms before she can plop down onto the dirt in an ungraceful heap. Though Ino does manage to flash a grateful smile in between when she feels the burning on her skin reduce when they reach the shade. An almost-grateful smile, to be exact.

"...it's mostly meant for reconnaissance and was first introduced in the Hakuba War when the Yamanaka had only recently established their alliance with the Nara and subsequently the Akimichi Clans..."

After detailing every single bit of information on the Mind Body Switch Technique, Ino is not surprised to find a smirk on her tutor's face. Really, there seems to be a rather evil streak behind that serious face. Though if anyone asks, Santa will always deny it with a straight look. And sadly, it actually works.

"Okay, so it seems that you do have a hold on your basics," Santa says. "However, going by your current chakra reserves, despite the fact that they are quite large, given that you have been working on that lately," here there is another discrete smirk, "the best target for you to practice on would have to be," again, there is a dramatic pause, and Ino is really starting to get annoyed. He may have noticed by the twitching brow, as he continues, "the goldfish that Akira-san keeps."

He seems a bit disappointed when Ino merely smiles and nods at his suggestion. Mentally deciding that rolling her eyes will be beyond her current stature, Ino graces Santa with her sweetest smile. The kind that held so much sugar, one might gain diabetes.

"...now, Akira-san usually leaves the compound at around ten in the morning to go out for his usual walk and visit the marketplace. That would be the best time for a plan of attack- I mean practice," Santa says.

Santa quickly explains the unspoken tradition in which every Yamanaka child knows by heart. It is the rule that upon learning their first clan technique, that every child must receive the honourable task of causing great mishap in the prized goldfish pond of the oldest Yamanaka member. Akira has luckily been on the suffering end for the past decade, which really does wonders for his already explosive temper. Santa gives a not very sincere sorrowful look at that fact.

Though, Akira-san does seem to hold a soft spot for the quiet Yamanaka heiress. Everyone does.

"Are you up to it, Ino-chan?"

Her lips may have twitched slightly, though she does manage to give a serious nod. Giving a brief glance at the position of the sun, she waves a hurried and very welcomed goodbye when she realises that they had spent most of this morning planning an attack on the poor goldfish. Unfortunately for the poor little fishies who haven't suffered an attack in a while (as Ino is currently the youngest Yamanaka), yet another child is all geared up for the task.

There is always the habitual stare-down at the end where they both just look at each other with their most serious gaze and try to keep their faces straight. Santa wins, again. Mostly because it is just really hard to look strict when your face is still chubby and round with the youth of childhood. And also because it is just hard to look him in the eye when you know his true personality, despite the fact that Yamanaka Santa had literally been born with the most reliable-looking face any ninja could hope to gain.

Though as Ino is leaving she does cast a rather meaningful glance at the bear charm that Santa carried everywhere. One of the more distinguishing traits that he possessed. A gift given by girlfriend-dearest. 'Kuma-chan'.

As just a final thanks for all his hard work today, Ino's fingers move to form the sign code for 'time', which is luckily one of the few that she has been taught. Her smile grows when she hears a hurried shout in the distance after she leaves the clearing. Of course, Ino is the one who always has the last laugh. That was the greater victory, is it not?

Yep, Yamanaka Santa has once again left his girlfriend hanging when he has promised that they will be going out on a date during one of her rare days off. He really shouldn't have gotten too carried away with his goldfish plan. Though to be fair, Akira-san had left quite the lasting impression that one time Santa had been 'watched over' during his pre-academy days. Needless to say, the old man hadn't been amused when he realised just who started the 'age-old' tradition of bothering his goldfish. And so began the start of a silent feud between the two. That lasts even to this day.

Though before Santa could reap the benefits of getting yet another innocent young one to participate in the trial of invading the minds of goldfish, first, Santa has to deal with his cranky girlfriend, who threatens to dump him on a daily basis and with good reason too.

Sadly, being a pair of fools who are madly in love, there isn't much they can do in terms of reluctant acceptance to the nervous placating of a rightfully infuriated woman who has just been stood up for the umpteenth time. Sometimes, Santa's reliable face just made 'Bear' want to hit him more, as Ino cheerfully quoted.

It seems to be a common occurrence.

* * *

 **Ino's** mother is out at the flower shop today.

She had left in the wee hours of the morning, leaving a light peck on Ino's cheek and ensuring that Inoichi was still lying down.

Inoichi has been down for a while now, having been caught in a nasty shock from a nuke-nin with a mean lightning jutsu on his last mission. There had been a few laughs here and there once they were sure that everything was fine and that he was all set for recuperation. Which meant no training and just not doing much in particular. Mama seemed amused when she had just barely caught the shadow of Papa's figure hobbling out of the compound the other day. She muttered something under her breath about "how she should've known".

Ino had seen him when he was just about to leave through the back door - there was a rule that they weren't allowed to shushin in the house, not that Ino could even if she tried. But, Mama got rather annoyed with the leaves that would be left scattered on the floor.

Inoichi had held his finger to his lips, before patting Ino on the head. He was out on a top secret mission, he mumbled quietly to his not very gullible daughter. They both knew that he was just sneaking out to drink with his teammates, but Ino let him keep on the illusion of the 'responsible father' for a little longer. Mama found it funny, or rather 'cute', the way that he was trying so hard, though she did chastise him when he did finally return.

Her father's teammates, having probably sensed the trouble that would no doubt occur, had just dropped him on the edges of their clan compound before returning to their respective houses. Mum merely shook her head at the sight. With a grudging shake of the head, she had tucked her giggling daughter into bed before dragging her husband's drunken self across the clan compound.

It really did wonders for his image as clan head.

Though speaking of that, Inoichi had promised to take Ino out to show her something rather 'special'.

They were trekking through the forest, which was located in the depths of the shared land owned by the Akimichi, Nara and Yamanaka clans. It was rich with towering trees shattering the sunlight into tiny little fragments that were scattered amidst the thick forest floor. Ino's sandals made a soft crunch as she stepped on yet another branch, one hand held tightly by Papa as the other played with the leaf-sticking exercise that she had been taught.

Inoichi did offer her a piggy back though that had been refused much to his disappointment. They were walking at a low gait, as he took the chance to point out various plants and such. Some edible, others not, though the herbs that were necessary for cooking were further on the other side of the forest closer to the Akimichi compound, just as the deer were grazing near the Nara's.

"Ino. You're a bright child, aren't you?"

She looked up, blinking. Before, ending up with a big smile on her face once more. Though it appeared that Inoichi wasn't looking for an actual answer as he continued to speak. He carried on, pointing at various items here and there, before he launched into the subject once more.

"What do you think of the clan?"

"It's..."

Ino thought of the various people that she had met over the years. Of sweets being shoved into her hands with a subtle wink by various clan members and the other Yamanaka children, who were mostly older than her and spun wild stories from missions and from school. They all shared the same cheeky grin, one that Ino had also adapted. Help was offered, whenever she was stuck and it wasn't uncommon to see someone stop by and help her back to the house when she was exhausted from training. It was the little actions, that really got to her. Even if everyone seemed obsessed with patting her on the head.

"It's like family," she finally said. It was hard to put all those warm fuzzy feelings into words, but the word 'family' seemed to fit her clan more than it ever did for her old life. "A real family."

She received a pat on the head. People seemed to like to do that a lot. Ino was certain that it would change once she got taller. She was sure of it, face twisting into a cute frown that was really just more of a pout.

"I'm glad," Inoichi said.

His words melting away into a mixture of relief, happiness, but mostly just pride. They had stopped in front of a grey rock-like structure. Inoichi gave her a little nudge as Ino gazed at the monument in question.

"Recognise this?" He asked.

Ino gave a hum in response, eyes immediately zeroing in on their clan symbol. Hands tracing the Yamanaka mark lightly, Inoichi spoke. Ino listened quietly as he spoke of the three clans' history. He spoke of their alliance with the Nara and Akimichi clans, going into further detail than what she had been studying. His voice held a soft lull as he guided her through the years of history.

Her hands were still fiddling with a leaf. A new one that she had plucked off the tree, since the last one had suffered an untimely demise when she put too much chakra into it. It was starting to become a habit, she thought as she stuck yet another leaf onto her palm. Her mind was reeling over the information, fascinated by the events that were being recited in a story-like manner.

It was a long, peaceful afternoon. Inoichi spoke and Ino listened.

The forest held a mystical aura. There was a calming wave that passed by with every rustle of branches and an overwhelming life force that oozed out of the towering trees. "Hashirama trees", Inoichi explained, "a signature of our village".

Ino was slightly confused, or at least she had been. She understood the idea of the village beyond the clan. But she had been baffled, not for the fact that it wasn't considered rare for certain people to die a quick unnatural death. But more for the fact that it was accepted as a way of life and not shuffled under some dark creepy corner.

She stretched out her stiff muscles with a slight yawn. They had been out here for a while.

"...the village protects you when you're young. It allows you to flourish and learn, but at the same time the village is also vulnerable. So when the time comes, I want you to know that I will be trusting you to protect it as the sixteenth heir of the Yamanaka clan."

Inoichi's blue eyes were gentle as he smoothed down the ruffles in Ino's hair. His sigh seemed to be lost in the wind as he crouched down to gather his daughter up in a hug.

"We should head home now, eh?"

Pausing from her chakra exercise, Ino's blue eyes widened when she heard the unspoken words. She was silent on the whole way home. Her hands gripped tightly on the arms holding her as she looked back at the rock-like monument.

It seemed rather small compared to the Hokage mountain.

 _("When the time comes, I will be the one to die before you.")_

* * *

 **It** probably wasn't the best timing.

There was a brief pause as Ino searched for the name of the boy with the telltale red swirls on his cheeks. Which was what had caught her attention in the first place.

She had left the clan compound this morning, having been told by Mama to stop training for once and just enjoy the sunshine. The Academy would start in a couple of weeks, so she hadn't been terribly opposed to the idea. Though her initial plan had been to just find a nice bushy tree with lots of shade and then mind-body-switch with a random bird to try and get the hang of flying again.

And not, you know, barge in on what seemed to be an incredibly childish confrontation.

The boy was small. Slightly shorter than her, she idly noted, with the chubby stature that she had come to associate with the Akimichi clan. He was standing there, looking lost. His hand was holding onto his chip packet, as if it would provide some form of comfort. Though, it probably did, for all she knew. Which...was not a lot, she admitted with a slight frown. Though what she did know about, was the Ino-Shika-Chou alliance and that he, the boy himself, was looking like a kicked puppy.

Ino had been introduced to the other two heirs, back when they had all just been crawling, slobbery toddlers. She might have had the urge to mumble something old-fashioned about how much he had grown, if the Akimich boy's image in her head wasn't just another blurry blob, albeit a rather important blob. But to be honest, Ino really didn't remember much about her 'childhood' friend beyond the few meetings where they had basically just been laid together along with the Nara heir while their fathers got the chance to drink in the when their mothers were busy. That had been the whole purpose of the so-called 'socialising'.

It was a rather cloudy day. The sun was somewhere, quietly napping behind the sheer whiteness of the sky. Perhaps, just fed up with all the stupidity in the air. Ino sure was. But that didn't really do much to change the current predicament.

There were a group of boys. All around her age. The sun had seemed a lot brighter before she happened upon this scene.

They were jeering and taunting the poor boy, Chouji, she thought it was. Making snipes at his slowness and weight. Pointless comments that really seemed to be getting to the poor child.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts and having decided that the Akimichi would probably classify as one of 'her people', being a likely teammate in the future, Ino decided to intervene.

Besides, his chakra seemed quite well-developed and despite the distraught that she was feeling from him, he had managed to hold back from punching his bullies. Which made him out to be a kind? If not a bit meek. Though something in the boy had caught Ino's attention, which was why she had been deciding on whether or not to intervene in the first place. Maybe because of a vague memory of him shyly presenting her with a butterfly when they were much younger.

Ino walked up to the crowd. Lips already curving up into her signature smile, as she gently batted away the bodies that were blocking her path. Well, as gently as physically removing people out of her way could be. She really couldn't be bothered to get into an endless spat with people who enjoyed the misery of others. So the best way to do 'this' would be to just leave, hopefully sometime rather soon.

"Chouji!" She shouted, because yes there were actually quite a lot of kids and she really didn't understand why they were all gathered up to taunt another boy when they could be doing something more useful with their lives.

Said boy looked up at the sound of his name, though confusion clouded his eyes when he saw a blonde girl that he didn't quite recognise. He was really starting to regret joining in that game of 'ninja' and he had already apologised for making his team lose. But it didn't seem to help.

"I've been waiting for you," Ino said, her brow easily creasing into a concerned frown. "Where've you been? I was looking for you everywhere."

His mouth opened, though before some kind of reply could be formed, a brown-haired boy who had been at the front of the group turned around to face Ino with a critiquing look in his eye.

"And who're you?" He asked with his hands crossed in front of his chest.

The boy was taller than her. He was also pointing at her with a snot-covered finger. Ino decided that she disliked him on the spot.

Her hands were casually fiddling with the leaf she had picked up on her way here. Eyes still focused on Chouji as she let it fall, before sticking it to her palm again. She smiled.

"Yamanaka Ino."

At that, there seemed to be recognition. There was a hustle amongst the crowd. Quiet whispers as the children registered the identity of the new addition. Huh, so apparently she was quite infamous.

Ino was an only child. But she wasn't the only Yamanaka child. She had older brothers and sisters in the clan. Older siblings who left the compound more frequently than her and loved to talk or rather gossip. Which was really starting to becoming a clan trait, or at least among the younger generation. So it was only coincidental that they spread around the news of the Yamanaka heiress that had already mastered a clan technique and not because they wanted to reserve bragging rights after growing up hearing stories of the Hyuuga and Uchiha geniuses. No, why ever would you think that?

"Ne, we're kinda in a hurry today. So would it be alright, if we leave now?"

Without waiting for an answer, she walked up to Chouji. Gently grabbing his left hand, Ino gave the boy a reassuring smile, before leading him away from the crowd.

There, problem solved and confrontation successfully avoided. With the minimum amount of violence involved of course, she thought as she pushed her way back out of the crowd, this time with the boy in toll.

Chouji was silent they walked. He seemed rather subdued when they stopped at one of the taller trees, far away from the other children. A bit unsure of what he was supposed to do.

"I'm Chouji," he finally settled on saying. He offered her a shy smile before holding out his chip packet, which was rather wrinkled from the way that he had been gripping on it. "As a thank you," he elaborated.

Taking a chip, and ignoring the fact that she didn't really like oily foods, she sat down and leaned against the trunk of the tree that she had spotted from a mile away. Hand already reaching out to stick the fallen leaves, she patted the spot next to her, smiling when the boy shuffled in beside her.

"Chouji-kun, Are you going to be starting the academy this year as well?"

"Yeah, with Shikamaru too."

He seemed more relaxed as Ino started to fill the air with aimless chatter. Ino talked as she settled in the calm atmosphere, getting used to the occasional crunch and munch as she filled the conversation.

It was comfortable. And Ino found herself reclining back as she leaned against the weight of the Akimichi. They talked about various subjects. She taught him some of the flower codes that her mother usually used and he spoke of all the delicious dishes that his mother would whip up.

"Ne Chouji, you and Shikamaru-kun are both older than me, right?" Ino asked.

Chouji nodded, his eyes lighting up in as he gobbled up the last chip in the packet with a pleased grin.

"So you guys are gonna have to look after me, because you're older. When we start the academy, you will protect me from bullies like that, right?" She said as she gestured off into the distance.

He hesitated for a moment, as if unable to imagine his lazy friend committing the action of 'looking after' anyone, before her next words registered.

"Yeah," he said, before saying it louder. "Course, we will. But I will have to introduce you to Shikamaru next time, he's probably sleeping at his house again."

Ino laughed. She gave him a playful nudge in the shoulder as she got up from where she had moved to sprawl across his back. Her hand held up the flower crown that she had been idly weaving when she got bored of playing with leaves.

"A present," she said. "You'll come visit me, right?"

She smiled when he nodded as she balanced the crown on his spiky hair and gave him a quick hug. Offering him a hand, Ino pulled him up and they both started to walk back to their homes. They reached the crossroad, stopping in front of a barbecue shop, where Ino turned right and Chouji turned left.

"Well, you have to remember to visit me soon," she said. "And drag Shikamaru-kun with you, I would like to meet him too," she added as an afterthought.

She got a muffled reply and another smile, this one greater than the last.

Ino walked home with a light skip in her step and a promise for a future meeting. She was for once not fiddling around with leaves or flowers as she held the chip packet that Chouji had stuffed into her arms at the last minute.

She made it back to the compound just as the sun was setting. A warm glow was casted on the familiar building as she quickened her pace. Ino was humming, a tune that she had heard from her mother when she busied herself around the house.

Mama was standing there by the door when she had finished greeting the people she had passed by, somehow ending up with even more gifts in her arms as she made her way home. She ushered her in with a coat that was quickly wrapped around her shoulders, because "it's cold when it's dark and what were you thinking leaving without a jacket?"

Ino managed a sheepish grin, before swearing that she would remember for next time. She fiddled with the chip packet in her hands. The other goods had been dropped off somewhere along the way to the kitchen.

Somewhat amazed by the 'homely skills' that she will probably never learn, Ino watched as Mama whipped up a cup of hot milk and somehow managed to balance a plate of steamed fish as well as chopping up a couple of pieces of fruit at the same time.

"You're smiling," Mama remarked idly.

Ino paused in the midst of her meal. "I'm _always_ smiling, that's what you said, remember?"

"Well, that's not a no, is it? I'm your kaa-san, I _know_ when something's happened even if it's just the slight increase in the curvature of your smile by two degrees," she said as her hand reached out to release her long brown hair from the tight bun.

Ino shrugged. "Nothing much, made a new friend today. And he even comes with a 'plus one'," she added with a grin.

Mama paused from where she had been doing the dishes and looked over her shoulder.

"Hmmm, is that so?"

Ino merely nodded, before smiling even harder. "I might have also scared a bunch of stupid kids who fancied themselves as bullies by fiddling around with my chakra for a bit. You know, the subtle things that change a person's approach and tone that you showed me yesterday."

Funny, how Mama's lessons always seem to come into handy so soon. Said woman gave a light scoff in response, "Well as long as nothing permanent happened..." She trailed off with a meaningful glance.

Casually ignoring the fact that a couple of kids might have gotten a scratch here or there from when she had forced her way through the multitude, she nodded. Mama seemed to be content with whatever she saw and just returned her gaze back to the fine china.

A comfortable silence fell between the two as Ino fiddled with the chip packet that she had placed next to the vases of flowers on the table. Her stomach was warm and satisfied from the meal, so she's not quite sure what to do with the gift that she hadn't sorted along with the others.

There was a deliberate creak of the chair, as Mama seated herself opposite. Her hands were still holding onto a towel as she looked at her expectantly.

"It's getting late so if you're not going to eat that, you should really be getting to bed, young one. We all know how much you hate junk food," she said. "Sometimes though, I swear you eat healthier than I do," she ended with a shake of her head.

Ino only smiled at that as she got up and placed the packet down, taking care not to let the wrapping crackle as she knew that it was starting to get on Mama's nerves. Though as she walked back to the room, she seemed to change her mind.

"Nah, I think I'll eat it tomorrow. Just leave it on the table."

Mama simply raised a brow at that comment. She laid a gentle kiss on Ino's forehead as she was leaving, before settling back at the table. Her brown eyes were filled with mirth as she heard the familiar click of the door that suggested that her daughter had retired for the night.

The kettle let out a whistle as it bubbled merrily in the background. The lights were mostly off, apart from the one that hung directly above from the kitchen ceiling. Various flowers were spread in front of her as she silently worked on arranging them in the night.

She still had another blonde to wait for, after all.

* * *

 **A/N:**

(1) " _Akira-jisan"_ Can jisan be used as a suffix or must it be used like Ojisan as more like a title?

(2) I don't there was actually ever a jounin exam in the manga, but it was mentioned at one point in the anime, so yeah.


	2. Pre-Academy Days

**CYNOSURE**

 **Summary:** So...reincarnation turned out to be much, much more than just a plausible theory where people worried over whether or not they would get turned into a bug to spend the rest of their lives. SI/OC as Ino

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

 **Warnings:** OC-Insert

 **A/N:** Special thanks to Enny, DarkDust27 and Bee for reviewing. You guys are amazing :D

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 _Pre-Academy Days_

* * *

 **There** was a muffled sound.

Ino let out a disgruntled groan as she slowly crawled onto her back. She glanced at the contents of her breakfast with a grim frown.

 _Well, that could've gone better._

She's still lying on the ground. Half-dazed and just all too miffed with what had transpired. Her eyes lazily scanned the skies for the culprit, narrowing as it flew around in a wide sweeping arc, deliberately hovering just out of reach, before disappearing as a black dot in the horizon.

Her fingers were massaging the sore spot in her head as she tried to ease the pounding that was making her blood boil. The wind was nudging her hair, whispering soft words as she managed to sit up. She did a half shuffle, sliding move that sort of looked like a slug as she leaned back against the tree trunk and let out a sigh. Grimacing, as she felt the bark dig into her skin through her shirt.

There were still a few dark spots in her vision, but at least the world was no longer spinning with a million and one birds flapping their wings and making the most obnoxious squawks. She shook her head a few more times, eyes squinting as a tall figure came into sight.

"I thought I would find you here."

Ah, it's Papa. She tried to smile at him, but then she felt sick again so she thought it was best to just pretend her facial muscles were temporarily paralysed as well. Though she did try to convey the message that she was fine through sheer staring alone. Which somehow managed to get across the general idea. How? Ino really didn't know, but let's just say that it's _Inoichi_ and leave it at that.

"You're clearly not fine," he said, a frown crossing his features.

He stepped forward, moving to pick up the tumbled heap that Ino had become. Brushing away all the matted hair, his hand moved to cover her forehead. It was burning.

Ino thought that he may have seemed a bit angry or just horrendously worried in general. Though she was just so tired. She blinked at all the right places as he started to mumble reprimands, all the while holding her closely as he carried her back to the house.

"What did I say to you about practicing last time? It's all good if you actually know your own limits, but working yourself to exhaustion is not going to help you improve," he said, hand swatting away any protests aside. "Your mind and body cannot stand the effects of the Mind Body Switch Technique so many times. Reservation, Ino, practice in reservation."

His voice sounded a bit exasperated. Kind of like when Mama got distressed whenever someone does what she sees as 'waste of energy, time, resources and life', except probably quite a lot worse. As always, she's only mildly concerned with the reprimands she was sure to succeed and her own inability to convey her views to words, or at least not nicely.

They passed by quite a few concerned people. Ino just closed her eyes and pretended to be unconscious, quietly counting, as the seconds passed by.

"So..." She managed when she had been sat down in a chair after her impromptu bath before she wisely shut her mouth and took the sugared drink offered.

"You know Ino, I do understand that you want to improve the speed of your technique," Inoichi began, giving her another look as if sensing that she was about to speak up again. "You're bright. We've had this conversation before."

They did, but this time, he just seemed tired. Inoichi ran a hand through his hair and pushed up his headband. He seemed to be mentally mapping out the best way to go about this. Though what 'this' composed of still remained to be seen.

"You were born with abnormal amounts of spiritual chakra," he said, pausing to tighten the towel wrapped around her.

Ino's hair was still wet from the wash when she had been unceremoniously dumped into a tub of hot water, clothes and all. She stared at the droplets on the blonde locks, eyes following as they narrowly missed her knees and fell to the wooden floor with a wet flop.

"Ino. Ino, sweetie," he insisted louder. "Look at me," he said.

She glanced up briefly, before sweeping her gaze back down to study the growing puddle.

"I'm not mad at you, okay." Inoichi finally managed, rather unconvincingly if you asked Ino. Though she relented when she realised the pointlessness of her actions and muttered something that hopefully came across as "I'm sorry". It might have worked because Inoichi had continued on with his talk.

"The nature of your chakra has made it easy for you to perform our clan techniques. And it was easy for you to just copy it after it was shown to you a few times," he continued. "But you don't really understand the mechanics of it. Sure, you may know the history and all the facts behind it creation, but do you really understand what happens when you infuse chakra and shape it? What happens at that precise moment your mind is projected?"

Inoichi seemed to let out a sigh as he sensed the literal droop in the air. He reached out again, this time, his hand landing in a firm pat on her head, before giving her hair a good ruffle.

"It's not your fault and I want you to know that I am very, very proud of how far you've come. This is just going to have be another hurdle to cross. One that we'll cross together."

Ino ducked her head, placing down the mug as her hand reached out to smooth out her hair. The water trickled down her fingers like tiny waterfalls. She seemed confused.

"I haven't been home often these last few years. And most of the other qualified adults in the clan are busy as the village is still recuperating. You've been learning mostly just from scrolls and instructions from the other kids. Which is great, but even when I was home and ran through the technique with you, I didn't ever think to explain it deeper," he ran his hand through his hair again, this time removing his headband and letting the stray strands fall.

"There's no point in perfecting a technique that you don't quite understand. So, we're going to go through this bit by bit, even if you already know how to perform the technique. You won't always be able to just 'know' how to use a jutsu after seeing it. This will get you into good habits."

Ino nodded. Finally finding the strength to smile, just a small one that bloomed when Papa smiled back. Her hair was still sticking to her back uncomfortably, but she shuffled forward as she leaned in to listen to his next words.

"...the mind is complicated in this way. This is why the Mind Body Switch Technique which is meant to build a base for when you learn future techniques is limited in the way it is," he said, eyes looking at her expectantly.

Catching on, Ino obediently listed all the dangers of the technique as she discreetly plucked a few leaves of the potted plant that had been poking into her side. "It can only travel in a straight line, it's slow and if you miss..." Here, she paused, frowning as she tried to recall the vague wording from the scroll that she had read.

Inoichi carried on, even as he removed the plant from her grabby hands while giving her tap on the nose to tell her to concentrate.

"Usually when you're moulding chakra, you combine both your physical and spiritual chakra, which is why you had to go through so much physical training before you could get a good hold on feeling it."

Inoichi stood up to pour a cup of hot tea, fingers dipping in before drawing on the table.

"Now, if we look at chakra as two parts. Yin," he drew a semi-circle in the centre of a quick body outline, "and Yang."

Ino's eyes followed the drawings carefully, hands dutifully passing over a tissue to dry his hands after double checking that she hadn't handed over a leaf by accident.

"Yin can be described as many things, dark, but here we will visualise it as the complementary to life force, which can be simplified to be a combination of the physical chakra we use on a daily basis and a person's natural aura. It's 'light' in a sense," he said as he held up an empty cup, letting it reflect off the sunlight, before flipping it over. "Yin is the opposite. It is the spiritual chakra and while Yang represents the potent forces of the body, Yin comprises of the powers of the mind."

Something seemed to click in Ino's mind as she put her hand in her father's watching as a soft blue glow wrapped itself around her skin. She held up her hand experimentally and tried to remember the feeling. She closed her eyes for a bit, before she started to mould her chakra. There was the tugging feeling coming from somewhere deep inside her abdomen as she physically felt something move into place when the glow started to emit from her hand once more, this time of her own merits. It seemed brighter that what she had done before.

Time trickled by as she moulded her chakra over and over again under the gentle tones of Inoichi's voice. Soon, she had worked through most of her chakra reserve and might have also killed a few plants in the process. She was sure that they could still survive without leaves to photosynthesise, though she did feel a little guilty. There was a distinct probing thought that Mama wouldn't be pleased as she turned her attention back to the lesson.

The water drawings had long since dried out as Inoichi continued. His voice speaking in the mystical tone that Ino had inherited.

"It is common practice to use animals as the first target for beginners when applying the Mind Body Switch Technique."

"Like goldfish," Ino put in softly, lips twisting into a mirthful grin.

Inoichi let out a low chuckle as well. Amused as he recalled the image of a very irritated Akira-san exploding and setting a bunch of mind-controlled nin-dogs that he had temporarily swiped on a sweating Yamanaka Santa. Which had just led to even more trouble – the joys of a typical Yamanaka day.

"Yes, like...goldfish, animals that have a short memory or aren't quite as developed as the human mind. Though, animals such as the Inuzuka dogs are an exception, as well as summons, which are just a whole other story," Inoichi said, before rolling his eyes, recalling a memory from his youth. Let's just say that Yamanaka Santa's personality wasn't exactly a sudden mutation that had popped up in the clan.

"I've already explained what could happen if you 'miss' your target, but there's also something that comes when taking over the mind of animals. Consequences, that aren't just the physical strain on your mind."

Inoichi gave a pointed look in her direction.

"You don't just become 'lost' like when you miss," he paused, voice getting softer, "you forget."

Ino had stilled, having contemplated the meaning behind those words. The night air was starting to feel a bit chilly as she recalled stories told at sleepovers and over candle lights, and suddenly they didn't seem like stories anymore.

"You mean the mind can get-," she tried to find a word for it, "confused?"

She phrased it as a question, but despite the undetectable shake in her voice, she seemed certain. There had been words here and there, of Yamanaka's attempting to control great beasts. She thought of Riko-san. Santa's mother. Of stories scratched in at the very end of scrolls.

Of men trying to tame nature, trying to invade the minds of bijuu. There had been many who had tried to stop the Kyuubi. They had been desperate then. People were dying and the red chakra had been absolutely terrifying. Choking, restricting and drowning in despair.

And in the end, every single one...

Every single one of them had gone mad. Absolutely _mad_.

Ino looked up at her father with wide eyes. She tried to say something as she sensed the sadness in his eyes. Though he beat her to it.

"Ino, promise me that you will be more careful from now on. It may just seem like a little bird right now, but I know you, soon you will start to get reckless, it might be a dog the next or a just a friend or another clan member, but it grows," Inoichi said, his blue eyes seemed piercing as he looked her in the eye. "You're still so very young, your mind hasn't even fully developed. Promise me this.

"Not just as Ino, but as a fellow Yamanaka and the next clan head."

"I promise," she whispered, voice solemn as she held her hand to her chest.

Then, it seemed as if the previous heavy tone in the air had just been a figment of her imagination when Inoichi smiled and patted her on the head.

"Now, that doesn't mean you can just start to slack off. Keep practicing and I might just teach you the Mind Clone Technique before you become chunin."

"Eh, but that's ages away. I haven't even started the academy yet."

"Well, you better start working hard now. Oh and no graduating early."

Ino pouted, as with how their father-daughter conversations usually ended. Though her fingers still fiddled around with the leaves in her hand, as they stuck to her skin in a circular pattern, half-covered and half-empty.

* * *

 **Today** was a lazy, lazy day.

Chouji was just as she remembered. All kind and gentle as he muttered a polite greeting when he had arrived at her doorstep this morning. Nara Shikamaru was at his side, hands stuffed into pockets and already slouching in the blatant rays of an early morning.

They seemed a bit flustered, probably having been pestered by all her overprotective clan siblings. There was always fun in watching them poke fun at every foreign face that made their way to the clan compound, even more so when they were self-appointed as their 'guide'. They were all smart enough to avoid the right people, the ones who had an important purpose, or rather just grown-ups who looked like they could beat them up with a single finger.

Mama seemed to agree with her that Chouji really was the most adorable thing as she gave him an extra large helping of the Korean barbecue that had been made today. Ino had dropped by the Akimichi compound the other day when she had been out running errands for the flower shop, though it seemed that Chouji's dad had taken him out for a special trip, though she had the loveliest time talking with the Akimichi matriarch.

Ino had offered to help with preparing the meal this morning, though Mama had just given her one sceptical look before ushering her out faster than you could say "Kai".

Her wonderful mother had already left the house, seemingly confident in her daughter's ability to not burn the house down which left the three children all on their lonesome. There was a moment of silence where everyone just stared at each other, having already given introductions when they had first arrived.

Ino was good at making conversation to pass by the day, or small talk as you call it. But instead, she just gave a secretive smile before she led the two out to a clearing deep inside the heart of the shared forest.

The two boys were following along and she asked a couple of questions every now and then. Mostly on the subject of food or shogi and soon she's dropped the '-kun' of Shikamaru's name as they basked in a comfortable silence.

She bent back a protruding branch from a tree near the entrance of a narrow well-walked out path, taking care not to snap it as she held it out for the two behind her.

They arrived at the clearing, where Ino pointed at the tree in the middle. Not that there was any need to.

It was a tall tree, taller than all the others in the forest. Papa had told her that it was different from all the other chakra-grown ones in the forest. This one had been rumoured to have been personally planted by the Shodaime himself, and grown carefully from seed to tree. A sign of goodwill, or perhaps a symbol for new beginnings. No one really knew, but from the words of the few who were allowed access - it was _old_.

Ino walked up to the tree, placing a hand on its surface as she felt the thrumming life force beneath. There was a similar effect at the clan monument, but this was much, much stronger.

She turned around smiling and walked back. After a moment of hesitation and making sure that she was met with no resistance she grabbed the wrist of her future teammates and guided their palm to the trunk, just as she had done before.

"Tou-chan said that you probably haven't seen this place yet, so I was allowed to be the one to show you," Ino said. "We weren't actually supposed to be come here till we became genin, but I found this place one day when I was wondering around and well..." She trailed off.

"It's amazing," Shikamaru said, eyes widened as he looked over the tree.

He seemed to be more awake as well. The tree tended to have that effect on people.

"What do you think, Chouji?" Ino asked, as she let go of their hands and sat down on the grass underneath the protective shade of the tree.

He seemed awed as well, similar to how she had been when she had first discovered this place. Ino remembered having spent weeks and weeks just lying down and training with the warm force of chakra being emitted in waves. Personally, Ino thought that the tree appeared to be much older than Konoha, so old that it almost seemed to be semi-sentient.

"Ino, thanks for bringing us here," Chouji said as he tore his gaze away from the tree and its thrumming life force.

She waved away his thanks with a half-exasperated chuckle.

"We've all known each other since we're babies and it's obvious that we're going to be put on the same team once we pass, so you guys can relax more," she said, eyes curving into a light smile. "We're friends, right?"

Her smile grew as she got a shy smile from Chouji and she is only slightly surprised when she gets a surprisingly firm nod from Shikamaru as well.

Shikamaru was quiet, a different kind of quiet. Ino herself had often been told that she was a quiet person, though not shy. Never shy. Shikamaru seemed more subdued, less...'flighty' and more collected.

He was also lazy, just as Chouji had told her. Though his eyes held the cool, calm intelligence that Ino had always been told to watch out for. He made clever comments and she had cracked quite a few smiles out of him, so she counted that as a success.

Ino's mother had told her stories. One particular one was about two men. One, who could move armies and win wars with a sharp mind and another, who had the strength that even gods might envy, but fought as a soldier. One more among millions, billions, just another in the entirety of the war.

 _("There's no such thing as a one-man army," she had said. "At least no_ _ **human**_ _can achieve such a feat, not even with clones or time-bending jutsu. Physical strength is limited. But what the human mind can achieve...the possibilities are endless.")_

Then she had added with a laugh. "People already think the Nara are intimidating, but just imagine what they could do with the right motivation."

Shikamaru was clever.

She watched as he brought out a shogi board. The three of them were lying in a haphazard triangle. She was weaving a flower crown, though she doubted that Shikamaru would bear the dignity of wearing her wonderful creation. She added some red flowers. Chouji seemed to like that colour the most from what she had seen.

She let out a giggle when Chouji was beaten for the tenth time, though she did offer him the flower crown and a packet of chips that she had taken to buying recently.

"It's barbecue flavoured."

Watching as Chouji munched on the chips happily, she turned to Shikamaru. Ino held out her hand, revealing a four-leaved clover that she had hunted down amongst the many that were growing in a wild patch.

"It's a Yotsuba no Kurōbā. For good luck," she said. "I figured you would appreciate this more. Though I wouldn't mind making you a flower crown as well," she added with a cheeky grin. "I think pink would suit you well."

He rolled his eyes at her, before taking the clover. She noticed that he seemed to take care not to crush it as he tucked into his pocket.

"Thanks," he said. "You know, the offer to play is still up. I'm getting bored of versing Chouji anyways." Then as if realising something, he spoke up again. "I could always teach you if you don't know how to play."

Ino smiled, feeling the familiar excitement of a new challenge as she shuffled over to where Chouji had been sitting, before he moved over.

"Sure, but Chouji's on my side, right?"

Chouji nodded as he grabbed another handful of chips. Though he did give her a look that basically said "good luck and you'll _need_ this" as they both watched Shikamaru reset up the board. She answered by handing him a drinking can and telling him to drink some water, nicely.

Shikamaru was a good teacher, though he had the habit of not repeating anything twice. He was going easy on her, she could tell. Nevertheless, she still lost horribly. She asked for another game, despite her best interests.

"Well, I'll get you this time, or at least once I've completely figured out how to play," she mumbled under her breath as she lost for the tenth time in a row.

She was starting to beat Chouji's record, his losing streak that was. Ino had never had time for board games in the past. Or rather as Shikamaru called it "an intellectual conversation by battling with the pieces on the board". Needless to say, she was quite saddened to find that she was absolutely average at the game. She wasn't bad at it. Just not great, which was something she wasn't quite used to. Sadly it seemed that her list of things to accept as impossible tasks was starting to grow from cooking, sewing and eating spicy food to beating Shikamaru at shogi.

Ino pouted at the slow drawl of "Checkmate" again.

"How are you doing this? I thought I had you when your bishop was- and urgh," she said as she tugged on her hair, letting out a mock mournful cry.

"Whatever happened to beginner's luck?" She mumbled.

"Well, at least you're getting better. No longer making any illegal moves, like moving your bishop orthogonally," he offered, eyes amused as he set up the board again. "But, you still rush too much. You need to be patient you're moving your pieces. Especially when you're moving your gold general."

She huffed, taking a chip from the offered packet and accepted Chouji's sympathetic look with grace.

"Well then, can we play again?" She asked, ignoring the bewildered glance that Chouji was shooting her. "If I'm improving and all, huh?"

Shikamaru simply took her request in stride. Though he did seem awfully smug when he won...again.

* * *

 **Ino** was smiling.

Nothing unusual, apart from the fact that it was slightly different from her usual reserved ones. This particular smile stretched from ear to ear, painting her pale cheeks rosy with excitement.

Mama was combing through her hair, which had grown out of its habitual blonde pixie cut to tickle her neck. Her hands were gentle as she moved the wooden comb down slowly at a rhythmic pace.

"You're a big girl now Ino, aren't you," she said as she clipped her hair back with a clip.

Ino looked at the mirror, catching her mother's reflection behind her as she moved to get something. She was holding a flower, a _lespedeza._ Ino tilted her head as she watched her weave the purple flower into her hair. She stared at herself in the mirror, an unreadable look crossed her face as she looked at the girl in the mirror. There were similarities, though the sharp edges of the aristocratic features that she had born a long, long time ago were replaced by the softer features that she used to associate with Orientals.

"It suits you."

Ino turned around, hand lightly touching the purple petals embedded in her hair as she faced her mother.

"It's a bit impractical for training, though," she started. The slight cheekiness in her eyes soon pulled apart the serious expression that she had tried to put on.

"Yes, yes. But, just for today. Let a mother dress up her daughter for once," she said, letting out a sigh as she eyed Ino's dark-coloured outfit. "You really should wear more bright colours, maybe some light blue – it will bring out your eyes."

Ino nodded along, tugging on the edges of her dark purple shirt as her mother continued to fluster about trying to think of anything else she might need for the academy. Though Mama seemed to realise that Ino was only going out for school and not a year-long mission as she calmed her fraying nerves a little and handed Ino her bento with one last kiss before she waved her out the door.

The brown-eyed woman stood at the doorway, hair for once not tied into a bun (having been too pre-occupied with the realisation that her daughter had long since grown from the tiny baby that she could hold in one arm).

She watched, eyes half-sad and half-proud until even the blonde dot in the distance had disappeared. She shook her head once and then again, before closing the door with an slightly empty feeling.

"Time sure flies by."

* * *

 **Ino** let out a slight yell. The closest that she was probably ever going to get to a screech.

"Chouji!"

She jumped through the window of the classroom that had been helpfully left open with a single leap as she made her way to the desk of her childhood friend with a slight frown.

"I thought that we were supposed to go to the market today," she said, casually grabbing the chair on the row in front and turning it around to face him, ignoring the gaping looks from the other two boys in her class that she vaguely recognised.

"I even skipped out on kunoichi classes today, just for you."

Chouji was doing a fine job of not meeting her in the eye as he tugged on his muffler nervously. He did seem rather guilty.

"You're always skipping out on kunoichi classes, so why does it even matter?"

Shikamaru had apparently woke up from his nap as he pitched in with a yawn.

"It's too troublesome to explain, so just blame Iruka-sensei."

Ino raised a brow, though she did relent on her impromptu questioning. Instead, she poked Chouji's cheek a couple of times for good measure, before breaking out into a smile.

"Fine, I should have known," she said, letting out an overly dramatic sigh as she rocked on her chair. "You're lucky I'm such a nice person."

Reaching out to her belt, she grabbed a storage scroll, before wiping her thumb over the seal with a touch of chakra. Chouji seemed to visibly perk up as the smoke cleared, revealing containers of various food ranging from udon to tempura.

"Enjoy, Yamanaka deliveries at your service," Ino muttered. "Eat up while it's still warm."

Chouji seemed to take it as a sign that all was clear, once Shikamaru added in that Mizuki-sensei, who was meant to be supervising them, had probably just left them to their own devices again, so there was nothing to worry about. He dug into the food with a cheery gusto as Ino turned her attention to the other two 'delinquents'.

She sent a sliding glance at Shikamaru, before relaxing a bit when he nodded.

"Hey, I'm Yamanaka Ino," she chirped. "You're Kiba-kun, Akamaru and..."

She tried to recall the name of the previously quiet blonde boy in her class that had suddenly morphed into this _orange thing_ and had taken to yelling at the top of his lungs at every chance. He also had the most ridiculous chakra signature that she had ever sensed.

"Naruto-kun, right?"

Ino didn't offer out a hand, being too busy fiddling with the chakra coin that Mama had gotten her once she had been tired of her "devastating all my hard work and the poor, poor plants". She did give a smile though as she pushed some of the containers towards the two. Giving a light pat on the white puppy that had slipped out of its usual place, after getting permission from his Inuzuka partner, she spoke again.

"Dig in, even Chouji can't eat all of this," she added, a fond look in her eyes as she raked over the already growing pile of empty containers.

Somehow, Ino felt like she had done a good deed when she saw the way that Naruto's face had lit up with the brightest grin that she had ever seen. All teeth and gums. It seemed to light up the entire room when he yelled a thanks, before getting into a tug-of-war competition and a three-way eating contest that had somehow resulted between him, Chouji and Kiba.

Some people tended to have that effect, she mused. Almost like they were made of an entirely different personality.

She still shuffled away from the group though. Ino didn't exactly appreciate being hit by bits of crumbs and such as an aftermath of their _excitement_. Grabbing a few containers in the few holes that their wildly waving arms had created, she headed over to the side where Shikamaru had wisely moved before the racket had even started.

"Well, they seem like they're having fun," he commented dryly as he greeted her.

Ino just smiled, holding out the container that she had managed to grab.

"It's mackarel," she said, as she opened the container and handed it forward with a pair of chopsticks.

She felt somewhat pleased, when Shikamaru had looked up and was no longer hiding from the world in the pits of his own arms, for some strange reason or another. Small achievements in a sense.

Ino was fiddling with the coin in her hand, injecting a bit of chakra in it, before she tried to expel it just a couple of millimetres above the back of her hand. It successfully took her mind off the background yells of "Hey, that was mine" as she carefully turned her hand around trying to keep the coin floating just above her skin as she hovered it over the palm of her hand.

She looked up from spinning the coin. The silver blur skating around the rink of her palm like a figurine.

"Not going to eat?" Shikamaru asked.

"Nah, I figured I should eat beforehand," she said, casting a glance to the scraps of food left where the three boys and one dog were all leaning back against their chair with a couple of satisfied pats on their stomach. She let the coin flop over onto the wooden desk with a soft ting as she muttered, "...and, it turns out that, that had probably been a very good idea."

Shikamaru followed the line of her gaze, before letting out a sigh that somehow managed to condense all his exasperation into a single let out breath.

"It's troublesome. And they're going to fall if they keep leaning back that way."

Ino flicked the coin across the desk that that were huddled at, avoiding the now empty container of mackerel and watched as it spun in a great big arc before hitting Shikamaru on the arm.

"Oh cheer up a little, well you? You could at least pretend that you're glad to see me," she said, hiding a smile behind her hand as she heard a great big clash in the room.

He gave her a look, before promptly deciding that it would take too much effort to react and just muttered a quiet "troublesome" under his breath.

Ino quietly tapped on the desk, before replying.

"You know you're smiling too, right?"

* * *

 **She** had heard the story before.

Except Chouji had told it slightly differently. It wasn't till he was halfway through the whole legend that she realised with a startling _oh_ , that this was some sort of variant of the Thousand Paper Cranes, that she had once heard, back in another lifetime. It had all seemed horribly romantic, in that innocent childish hope that she found difficult to shed.

Though it seemed that like with Sadako of Hiroshima, Sadako the kunoichi had also come to a sad end. It was a tragedy. Yet, it was told as a symbol of hope. One of the favourites among times of war, though Ino had no idea where Chouji had heard it from.

He had hunted her down at the flower shop today. She had been begging Mama for a note to excuse her from kunoichi classes for good when he had arrived, all huffing and panting.

"Hey Chouji."

He was slightly bent over, cheeks red, but eyes shiny as he raised one arm in a wave, before it flopped back down to hit his knee with a smack.

Setting down the flower that she had been moving into another vase, she got up and dusted her hands on the makeshift apron that she had been using, depositing the washed-out blanket next to a pile by the back door. She looked back at Mama, who was already waving her out the door. Though Ino was quite disappointed when she saw her lips form the word "No" to her previous request.

Though before she could protest further, Chouji had already dragged her out the door. She was half-tempted to ask if there was a barbecue sale going on or something, until he had started leading her towards the Nara compound. A rather disgruntled Shikamaru had greeted them at the door. Ino flickered her eyes toward a nearby clock in surprise.

"You're up early," she said, giving a slight bow as she removed her shoes at the porch. "Where's Yoshino and Shikaku-san?"

"Out," he mumbled, stifling a yawn with one hand as the other made a beckoning motion towards the living room. "And I wouldn't be up, if Chouji didn't come to visit at this insane hour in the morning."

Ino raised a brow. Well, that didn't quite sound right. Though she held her tongue as Chouji, who was still dragging her along, pulled her down to a seat on the tatami mat in the middle. There were a few empty plates lying around, which she carefully stacked on the side, taking them, before Shikamaru could just shove him to the side sloppily.

She got down, not bothering to keep up with pretences as she lied down, leaning against one elbow as she pressed her face into the soft cushion that had been chucked at her, in a lazy throw. It had been kind of pathetic, landing only half-way to where it had been aimed at, just barely within reach.

Sensing that Shikamaru had gone into a half-dormant mode in the time that it had taken her to lie down, Ino decided to speak.

"So Chouji, what's got you so worked up this morning?"

"There's a new stand opening, you know when that travelling merchant group arrived at the village the other day," he said, eyes already widening in an all too familiar look "One of my cousins had the mission to help with escorting them here and he said they made the _best_ food."

Ino nodded, as if she completely understood what he was saying. She didn't, not really. But she nodded anyways. Mostly because it was Chouji, so she was fine with going along on whatever he had in mind.

"That still doesn't explain why you barged into my house before the sun even rose this morning," Shikamaru pointed out, swatting away her hand while she was trying to discretely tuck leaves into his hair.

"Shikamaru! You've never heard of the phrase, that a satisfying meal is worth moving mountains over?"

Ino was sure that she had a blank expression on her face at the moment, but she nodded for Chouji to carry on. Who for all that mattered, didn't seem too concerned about their current lack of enthusiasm. He seemed somehow convinced that they would become just as excited when he finally delivered the news.

Chouji had finished explaining the great revelation of this absolutely amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and Ino still wasn't all that pumped up for it. Though she did manage a somewhat _indulging_ smile, one eerily reminiscent of her mother's whenever she offered to help out with a meal.

Shikamaru just looked outright bored, though he did get up, after complaining about "What a drag" this entire revenue was. Ino was half-tempted to agree, but Chouji seemed happy, so instead she helped him drag the half-asleep Nara all the way till where the 'amazing stand' was waiting to be set at.

It was on the way there that Chouji retold the legend. Apparently, the owner of the stand, _Hiroshima Nanato_ was a descendent of the Sadako in the story. Chouji upon hearing about his amazing culinary skills had somehow managed to wrangle out that if he managed to help him fold a thousand paper cranes in preparation for the presentation that he wanted to hold in the middle of the village, he would allow Chouji one all-you-can-eat meal for free.

Ino's not exactly sure how to react, but Chouji seemed quite proud of his achievement. She was quite glad that he seemed to be coming out of his shell more, even if it always seemed to come with food as a motive. Nevertheless, she did manage to nod and hum along as they walked down the dirt path to a more sedated area of the village.

"That sounds great," she said.

Shikamaru somehow managed to give her an incredulous look which turned back into an impassive yawn the moment Chouji turned to gage his reaction.

She sat down on a smooth log that was acting as a bench under a tree (she idly wondered if it was the same tree that said log had been gotten from in the first place), when they had arrived, idly tugging on the streamers that had been weaved amidst its branches, eyes looking over what had previously been a rather drably piece of land that was often hired out to travelling circus groups or large numbers of merchants who wanted to set up foreign markets. She had spoken to a traveller once, when she had been younger. And from what she had learnt, it took a lot more effort than she would ever like to put in to set up such an event. It seemed much easier to just negotiate with the Market Council to borrow one or two stands for a couple of days.

Chouji was speaking with Nanato-san asking if they could come along from the looks of it as he pointed in her direction. She wrangled her fingers a little, giving a polite nod in reply. Shikamaru had hung around Chouji for a bit, making sure that things were okay, before walking about aimlessly after getting a good grasp of the situation.

She looked up when she felt a hand land on her shoulder, as she narrowly caught a origami flower dropped in her lap.

"Thanks," she said, scooching over on the log to make room for Shikamaru who had wondered back from looking at the stands that had already been set up.

"Early birthday present," he mumbled. "Figured you would like it."

Ino decided to be grateful and just ignore the undertone of "despite it being all too troublesome and flimsy, all the while not even being a real flower".

"Chouji wanted to come here to celebrate when it's your birthday, the free meal was supposed to be the present, but then he realised this morning that it would be impossible for him to finish the task on his own. Which is why he decided to just make it a group thing," he said as he leaned back, eyes lazily scanning over the sky.

It was a cloudless day, pity.

"Should have known it was something like that. Though you do realise, it's going to be your birthday as well. At least the day before mine, old man."

It was a while until he spoke up again. Chouji seemed to be busy, having been waved away by a fresh platter of pastries by one of the woman who seemed to have really taken a shine on him.

"He gets all these ideas, because you always help and egg him on, you know," he sighed, one hand gesturing at said boy.

Ino opened her mouth to answer, "I think it's great."

"You think _everything's_ great. You even helped him hide that stray cat he picked up when he was at that new ice-cream shop when you found out that his mum was allergic. And we all know how that ended," he said, this time not even bothering to finish with another sigh.

She looked slightly sheepish for a second, before trying to justify herself.

"Well...it was a cute cat and it didn't really mean to mess up and..." She trailed off weakly at the look she was given.

"You don't even _like_ cats."

Ino stayed quiet and just tugged on the streamers, nearly falling off the log when she pulled down a branch with it. She steadied herself again, pouting as she brushed off the twigs that had landed in her hair. Enviously eying the fact that Shikamaru had once again come out of the entire situation with a speck, still slouching as he raised a brow at her actions before lending a helping hand.

In the end, she just settled with a somewhat childish huff, before announcing.

"Well, you always end up helping in the end, so you're at fault too."

And that was the end of that conversation.

She was sure he heard him mumble something like "troublesome", though by that time Chouji had already jogged back with a bright smile on his face. He was also carrying a bunch of coloured paper in his arms and Ino had to grab some of his pile, because she was sure that he was going to either trip or drop the entire pile if she didn't.

Shikamaru ended up folding the most paper cranes though. Since, both she and Chouji turned out to be somewhat useless at the task. No one really minded though as they all ended up in a giant heap, lying underneath the streamer-covered tree when the sun sank down to mark the coming of dusk.

 _(So the legend goes that your wish will be granted when you fold one thousand paper cranes...)_

* * *

 **A/N:** School starts tomorrow, so I'll be slaving through all my exams instead of watching anime and writing fanfiction TT_TT

Chouji is one of my favourite characters, but I find him really, really hard to write. He's amazing though. That will become more obvious, especially after they become genin ;)

Anyways, review please?


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